Disaster in Switzerland
This article, , is the opening chapter of Exiled Prince arc, which is part of Bleach: Sun and Moon Chronicles. It features Kei Yume and Kenji Hiroshi as the primary characters, with Kusaka Kori, Nerine Amamine and Masaki Satō as primary support. This particular chapter is authored jointly by Kenji-Taichō and APS and takes place in the , specifically Switzerland. ---- Kei lay on his back, surrounded by trees. The trees were tall, their gray branches extended as far as the eye can see. So much so that a day of the blazing sun hardly managed to reach the ground. Still, Kei felt the burgeoning heat of the sun blasting on his relaxed face. The grass felt cool and refreshing through his clothing. Considering his usual outfit to be too strange in these parts, Kei wore something more appropriate for the area: a black sports jacket with simple slacks and a fedora for good measure. Earlier in the day, Kei walked through the woods, inhaling the fresh woodsy aroma and letting his mind wander elsewhere. There was a sound of crunching branches and a man's face loomed over him, his eyes staring directly into his. "Kei...why did we stop? We should keep moving," The man whined. "Even here, you're still like this." "Can't blame me. The atmosphere around here makes me want to lay down and relax. You should do it too Masaki. Fussing over me will give you wrinkles you know." Kei said, closing his eyes and licking his lips. "We didn't come here to relax. We came here to see if there was activity!! C'mon Nerine. Convince him!" Masaki replied, beckoning to a woman next to him. The woman was sitting on a tree stump, seemingly playing with a wooden block puzzles. Upon hearing her name, she merely acknowledged Masaki with a grunt and went back to her puzzle. "See. Nerine agrees with me. So sit down next to me and enjoy the atmosphere for a bit. Not like a place like this is going to last long here. Enjoy it while we can." Kei said with a smile, grabbing Masaki's arm as he forcibly brought him down. True enough... the peace didn't last. Elsewhere a dark-haired man, of muscular build and questionable temperament, avoided a slash from his opponent that, had he not moved, would have easily caved his skull in! The trees surrounding this man splintered with the mere after-effects of the intended blow and the man who dodged flash-stepped away. "That wasn't Shunpo!" The man declared. "That was Sonido...! He's come this far!?" The focus of his assertion was a Hollow-like humanoid with long black hair, eyes a varied mixture of red and yellow, a Hollow hole in his chest, and sharpened claws that would have cut you as surely as the Zanpakuto he held in his right hand. The kosode he wore was torn and tattered; though this appeared to have been caused by the creature's own muscles, rather than by any attack caused by the creature's opponent. "This is starting to grate on my nerves." As he said this the man successfully lifted his own Zanpakutō to defend himself. The resultant parry almost ripped the blade from his hand and his shoulder from its socket for by, but he managed to move around his foe and slash him across the back. He might as well not have bothered. His blade ricocheted off the creature's skin. "... Oh, perfect..." Masaki's ears perked up, causing him to instantly get up without hesitation. "Did you hear that? Something is happening at the distance," He said. Kei merely grunted. "You're hearing things Masaki. This calm atmosphere is fooling you; we're not in the trenches anymore." "Reīssen!" Jet black spiritual power tore through the trees in all directions, but the focal point of the energy stood in the centre without hindrance; the creature had seemingly conjured a crackling shield of electricity. "Son of a- Oh, shit!" The man side-stepped in-time to narrowly avoid having his side opened by the creature's sudden movement and slash, only this time the man managed to counter with enough force to tear open the skin on the creature's dominant sword arm. It grunted in response but otherwise showed no indication that it had been wounded. "Kenji... I hate you sometimes." Mere moments the later the speaker was sent hurtling over the heads of three strangers! "I swear I heard something." Masaki said adamantly. Just then, a young man came crashing through the brush, landing directly at Nerine's feet. "Hmm?" Nerine uttered, tilting her head at the sudden arrival. Masaki gasped, his face painted with a shocked a expression. "See!! I told you! There was something!" He yelled at Kei, pointing his finger at the sprawled out man. Masaki's words caused Kei to get up, albeit slowly. He sighed. "Alrite alrite Masaki. I admit Masaki. You're not crazy." He said teasingly. "But a guy like that just doesn't come crashing onto the ground like that. " "You think!?" The man who'd been sent flying looked none the worse for wear; though his kosode faired far worse than he did. It was ripped beyond repair. "I'd relocate if I-" The Hollow-like creature burst through the trees with a psychotic grin plastered across its face! In one smooth motion it closed the distance on the man it had been fighting and readied a swift blow towards his mid-section. The man had dropped his Zanpakutō in the exchange earlier and was appearing to ready himself for something very painful. "Kei!" Masaki cried out. The man known as Kei appeared in front of the stranger, his Zanpakuto poised to take the blow. A loud clang echoed as the two forces struck each other, causing the nearby foliage to rustle. "You didn't need to yell at me Masaki." Kei said with a grunt while he kept the snarling creature at bay. "Hey you." He said, pointing his chin at the the stranger. "Mind telling us what the hell is going on? Or are you just going stay there with that stupid expression on your face." "... I was hoping to catch my breathe, actually." The man to whom the one named Kei rescued took advantage of the situation and reclaimed his Zanpakutō. He then sheathed his blade in wild black-coloured spiritual energy with a distinct and vibrant purplish hue throughout. With a slashing motion and a roar of utter defiance the man sent the creature hurtling back into the trees with a crescent-shaped surge of spiritual energy! "Thanks. The name's Kusaka Kori and... that... is Kenji Hiroshi." He shrugged. "He's seen better days." Kusaka deliberately left out any mention of for fear of landing Kenji further in the shit. The Central 46 had already caught whiff of his friends state; the first time that this had happened Kenji had levelled a pretty large town in Germany, and almost killed young Kazuma. Suffice to say the Gotei 13 where interested in finding out just who this new threat was; and Kusaka had no way of knowing if Kei and his companions where affiliated any any way with the Soul Society. So he resolved to keep his cards close to his chest. That was, of course, if Kenji let them be. "Damn. He recovers fast!" Kusaka exclaimed. Kusaka, for the most part, looked to be out on his legs though. His shoulders where slumped and a desperate air hung about him; in addition he was weary down to his very bones. He'd been dealing with Kenji's uncontrolled transformations alone up until now but they had come with greater frequency in these past weeks, and he still wasn't fully recovered from their last fight only four days prior. Kusaka was obviously reaching his limit. Still he squared his shoulders. Kenji erupted from the trees with a battle-crazed look! The sunlight glistened off his twin Zanpakutō and those yellow-red eyes shown with an eagerness for blood. Just then, Kei walked in front of Kusaka, undisturbed about the creature so eager to kill them. He was now directly between Kusaka and Kenji, and if Kei had any amount of fear and hesitation, he didn't show it. He turned his head towards the young man, eyeing him quite closely. "You seem to be in quite a pickle Kusaka Kori. How about I do ya a favor and help you out with your predicament? The name is Kei Yume by the way." He said casually with a wide smile and nonchalant eyes. "Looks like your friend here is undergoing Hollowification. It ain't a pretty sight but all he needs is some tender love and care. The tough love version." Kei continued, smirking. "How did-!?" Kusaka cut himself off short, clearly shocked. "... Thanks, Kei." And he then backed away to stand beside Kei's companions. Kenji, however, wasn't so easily cut off. All he registered was the change in opposition; Kei had just made himself a large target, and Kenji blasted down towards the man of nonchalance bearing with an impressive booming Sonído! Energy coiled around his Zanpakutō -- unmistakeably the Jitsugen -- and he readied the blow. While still looking at Kusaka, Kei instantly brought up his Zanpakuto and made a downward slash at the attacking Kenji. However, it was not a slash meant to inflict harm; the Zanpakuto glowed with incandescent energy as it released a discharge of cackling energy directed right at the Hollowfied Kenji! The resultant clash caused the two forces to surge and implode, resulting in Kenji skidding free with a smoking carcass; Kei, on the other hand, was barely ruffled. The burns, however, healed over quickly. "Instantaneous healing!?" Kusaka exclaimed. "He's never gone this far before...!" He made shape to draw his Zanpakutō and rejoin the fray but he ended up falling onto his knees instead as he clutched his right-hand side. His hand came away soaked in blood and Kusaka, his body racked with pain, could do nothing but look on. Without a word, Kei quickly motioned for Nerine to render aid to the injured Kusaka. Nerine nodded her head and knelt besides the injured Shinigami, her hands outstretched over his bleeding wounds. A green aura appeared around Nerine's palms as she touched Kusaka's skin. Although it was a slow process, the bleeding began to slow. "Masaki, make sure that the Hollow doesn't come near me." Nerine said, her voice soft and melancholic. "Heh. You don't have to tell me." "Graaaaaagh!" Spiritual power fell off Kenji in waves and the trees surrounding him flattened to the floor! He bit down with sharpened teeth and prepared to pounce. "I dealt with your kind before, so I'm not a stranger on how to deal with you." Kei said to the Hollowfied Kenji. "No point in speaking to you, since you won't understand a word I'm saying while you're in this state." He reflexively shrugged his shoulders and prepared his Zanpakuto. Kei held his Zanpakuto with both hands and poised himself to strike. Without a second to spare, Kei was off! Running towards the savage Kenji, Kei yelled out a battlecry. "RAWWWWWWH!!" Kusaka couldn't help but be awestruck by the display. Kusaka and Kenji where no slouches with a blade; they where known as the Sword Saint and Sword Demon respectively, yet Kei Yume was every hair as good as they where, if not better. The way he glided around Kenji's attacks and launched counters of his own! Kusaka was reminded of his father, Tadashi, who was the Gotei 13's current Kenpachi. "Kei Yume... Just who is he?" Kusaka asked of Kei's companions. He really wanted to know. Because right now Kenji was getting his ass handed to him on a silver platter! And it was a beautiful sight to behold. "First and foremost, have you ever heard of the Yume Clan?" Masaki asked, all the while paying attention to the battle between Kei and the Hollowfied Kenji. Masaki's eyes were moving wildly in an effort effort to see the high speed battle taking place. "Vaguely." Kusaka admitted, somewhat ashamedly. "The politics of the noble and minor noble houses never interested me much, and history was never my strong suit; I excelled in battle, and little else." "I see...." Kenji cut low at Kei's legs but the man casually leapt high to kick his foe in the face. Kenji, rallying, flew into a swift sequence of follow-up strikes from both his primary katana and secondary wakizashi. "I just realized: I never got your names." Kusaka said. "I am Masaki Sato and the girl healing you is Nerine Amamine." Masaki started to say. "We hail from the Sato and Amamine Clan respectively. The Sato and Amamine Clans serve as Branch Families to the Yume Clan. As for us, we specifically serve as vassals to Kei." "Kei is part of the Yume Clan. In fact, he is the next in line to be the Head of the Clan. Or. He was. You see. Nerine, Kei, and I are exiles, forced to flee Soul Society. We were even disowned by our own clans." Masaki said with no hint of emotion whatsoever. Nerine nodded in agreement, her face expressionless yet solemn. Kusaka liked to think himself a pretty good judge of character. He was generally fit to have a good guess when someone was lying; he didn't Masaki and Nerine where. His guard relaxed a little. "... I introduced him as Kenji Hiroshi, but that's merely the name of his adoptive family. You see, Kenji was born as Rōnin Shiba. As for me: I'm the son of Tadashi Kori and Anika Shihōin. You asked if I'd heard of the Yume clan? Yeah, from my mother. I remember her telling me of a Michael Yume sometime ago. Relation?" "Micheal was the Founder of the Yume Clan. For your mother to have known our ancestor means...." Masaki let the last part trail off, unsure of what to say. Kusaka returned his attention to the fight. As before Kei was dominating the engagement but a change was beginning to settle over Kenji. Electricity began to crackle along the lengths of Kenji's Hollowfied body and, for the first time, he uttered more than a few grunts and groans; "Strike, Aoi Inazuma". A bolt of lightning fell from the heavens and struck Kenji's body! "Kei, watch yourself! He'll be far faster now!" Kusaka exclaimed. "His Zanpakutō pushes his physical abilities to the absolute limit. In his Hollow form...!" Kusaka didn't have to say it. Kei grunted in acknowledgement. Kenji disappeared and re-appeared behind Kei with both jutte-pronged blades ready to cleave through Kei. And before Kei was able to react, Kenji struck the Shinigami down, slashing him across the back! He grunted in pain, as blood spurted from his back wound. Kei unintentionally dropped his Zanpakuto as he subsequently dropped to his knees, all the while eyeing Kenji in defiance. "Graaaaagh!" Kenji moved to finish Kei off but was instead intercepted by Kusaka's Reīssen! Kenji's Hollowfied body blew backwards and upwards until he cleared what was left of the tree-line. "I don't think so." Kusaka exclaimed. Kei's clothes was stained in blood as he doubled over, hunched and seemingly defeated. However, another Kei leapt into the fray! Moving forward, he suddenly appeared in front of Kenji, grabbing the Hollowified Shinigami's head by surprise. Using his momentum, Kei threw Kenji into the ground with full force. Kusaka, dumbfounded, rounded on Kei's companions. "That wasn't Shunpo. Some kind of clone technique? Do I need to be worried right now?" "Inflatable Gigai. Every Shinigami should have one." Kei yelled out to Kusaka. As Kei waited for Kenji to stand up, he held the Zanpakuto in an outstretched vertical position, uttering "Please Remember Me Wasurete!" as he moved his hand down the blade. His Zanpakuto was enveloped in red energy as it transformed into a large and sleeker blood red blade with an outstretched winged guard. "He's taking the piss! Right?" Kusaka asked, clearly in awe. Kenji didn't think so. All he saw was someone in his way who needed to be removed. He picked himself up and charged! Kei side-stepped the multiple pierces with delicate shifts in stance. It was then Kenji did something unforeseen. He intercepted Kei's counter and, with the man's blade now lodged in his abdomen, Kenji attempted to slice down his body! Kenji's attack was swift, slicing through his body, essentially bisecting him in the process! Kenji's mouth opened into a wide smile as he started to laugh manically, enjoying the fact he added a Shinigami to his kill count. Unfortunately for Kenji, Kei appeared a few feet away from him, apparently unscathed. Kei appeared to smirk at Kenji, wagging a finger at him. "You're a hundred years too young to think I can be taken down that easily." He said, disappearing. He appeared by Kenji's side instantly, his hand balled into a fist ready to strike. Kei struck Kenji dead center on the face, sending him right into a tree with a resounding thud. Kei might as hell not have struck him at all. Kenji recovered with unnatural speed and proceeded to launch a Jitsugen Kei's way; though that was hardly it. He moved swiftly to the man's back and prepared a second before the first was even upon him, giving Kei two such blasts to content with. Seemingly content that Kei was sufficiently distracted Kenji turned to look ground-wards. "Ku....... Sa......... Ka!" He dove through the air like a bird of prey! The Jitsugen burned brightly on the edge of both his blades and, at his speed and trajectory, the blasts impact would do a good job of levelling the surrounding area and anyone caught in the vicinity! "Hantā! Defend!" A voice exclaimed through the smoke. A dozen dragon-faced, scaly skinned, leopard-like creatures seemingly appeared out of nowhere, only to jump into the path of Jitsugen in the hopes of absorbing most of the attack. "Nerine, prepare the Kido just in case!" Masaki said, beckoning to Nerine as he himself prepared to intercept whatever was going to come their way. Kusaka nonchalantly placed his hand on Nerine's shoulder. "Trust me." He whispered, and a sliver of power transferred to her. Kenji roared like an animal who'd just been cheated out of a good kill. His attack impacted the leopards first and lost some momentum before impacting the Kidō spell, which cracked under the strain. Kusaka sprang into action. His Reīssen erupted from Nerine's Kidō and proceeded to send Kenji's attack skyward! In the chaos that ensued though Kusaka noticed something critical: Kenji's red-yellow eyes where returning to their natural green at regular intervals. "... He's nearing his limit." Kusaka claimed. "If that's the case, I'll beat your buddy into submission until he wakes up then!" Kei proclaimed, while heavily breathing. Kenji's sudden recovery and counterattack did manage to take Kei by surprise, even if he didn't want to admit it. He eyed Masaki and Nerine, giving them a nod. Masaki and Nerine, two of Kei's oldest friends, instantly knew what Kei was up to. "Bakudō #4. Hainawa!" Masaki said, as a yellow reishi rope was generated from his hands. He threw it towards Kenji, the energy wrapping around his arms and body, immobilizing him. Almost immediately after, Nerine and Kei both yelled out, "Bakudō #9. Hōrin!", generating two orange-hued tendrils of spiraling yellowed-patterned reishi that also ensnared and immobilized the snarling Kenji Hiroshi! Using Horin as a makeshift rope, Nerine and Kei raised Kenji into the air, only for them to send him crashing into the ground. Even after all of that, Kenji did not stay down! Snarling in defiance, Kenji tried to stand despite being immobilized! "It's not over yet!" Kei yelled out to Kenji as he tackled him to the ground. Kei knelt on top of the struggling Kenji,one hand grabbing him by the collar while the other hand was poised ready to strike. "I faced a few of your kind before, and you know what I did to them? I made them wake up!" "Super Gatling Harisen Slap!" Kei proceeded to slap Kenji relentlessly in the face, each successive blow becoming faster and faster. Each time Kenji tried to resist and break free from his attacker's grasp, Kei smashed him into the ground, only to repeat the process once again. "WAKE UP!" "Where did you find this guy?" Kusaka asked. "He's bat-shit crazy! Who in their right mind slaps a Hollowfied person?" "We know someone who likes to use her slipper in the same exact way. Ahaha...ah." Masaki laughed nervously before abruptly stopping. Strangely enough, though, it was working. What appeared like fragmented pieces of broken pottery where breaking off of Kenji's body. With a final slap a sound like glass smashing against the floor sounded and Kenji fell forward face-first into the broken remains of his Hollow form. "... Owwwww." Kenji sounded. "My head... hurts so much." "You bet your damn ass your head hurts you fool!!" Kei said with a smug expression, his Zanpakuto now pointed at Kenji's throat. "At the rate we were going, this whole area would've been a wasteland!" As Kei finished, several of the trees behind him instantly fell. "On second though...this forest is pretty much ruined..." "And look!" Kei said, pointing at his ripped clothing. "You ruined my clothes! Now I have to wear my 1920s clothing all thanks to you..." Even though Kei tried to say that seriously, his facial expression seemed to indicate that he was more than thrilled to wear 1920s clothing. "Ugh." Nerine groaned with an annoyed look. "Took me twenty years to get you to stop wearing those ridiculous clothes, and know you're back to it? Kei, we're not in America anymore! We're in Switzerland! I don't think the Swiss would understand your fashion sense!" "Oh pish posh Rina! Those clothes suited me the best I tell ya!" Kei replied back, waving off her criticism. Kusaka heaved a collective sigh of relieve. Before approaching his life-long friend and rival Kusaka gathered spiritual energy and launched a skywards. As it reached the heavens and threatened to wink out he closed his fist and uttered an incantation; this caused the fiery orb to expand into a blinding explosion which persisted for almost thirty full seconds. "Feeling any better?" He asked of Kenji afterwards. "... Yeah, but not in a good way. I remember getting the cheeks slapped off me by someone." Said someone clearing their throat made Kenji look up at him. "I suppose that was you? Kusaka, give me a hand up, would you?" "Nope. It was that fellow over there!" Kusaka replied, pointing at Kei. Kusaka hauled Kenji to his feet. Without the latter's support Kenji would be back to kissing the ground; his own legs where like jelly, and every muscle groaned in protest. "The name's Kenji Hiroshi and I owe you a debt of gratitude Thank you." He extended his right hand in friendly greeting. "No problem! I dealt with this before; I'm no stranger to this sort of thing." Kei replied. "I'm Kei Yume but I doubt you know who I am." He finished, slightly laughing. Of course, Kei didn't expect anyone to hear of him, Masaki, or Nerine. To everyone in Soul Society, they were just criminals. Kenji, though, wasn't just anyone. He pulled an almost forgotten conversation with one Anika to the forefront of his mind and a look of realization donned on his quickly bruising face. "... You're of the noble Yume clan? I haven't heard much, I'll admit, but Kusaka's mother has spoken about you." Kenji claimed. "She said the charges laid against you are false; that you're a man of integrity, which I can see for myself. Tell me: you said you'd dealt with this before? Is there a way to be rid of it!?" "I highly doubt any of the Nobles would care for my existence, let alone know who I am." Kei offhandedly remarked. However, a flashback briefly shot through his mind, as if to remind him that it wasn't true. Kei recalled an image of a long, black-haired woman with serious eyes who took care of him in his youth. "Well, there's her, but I doubt they would know who that woman is." He thought to himself, putting it in the back of his mind. He had other things to worry about. "I assume you're aware that the affliction plaguing you is called Hollowification. If not, we'll I just told you." Kei said to Kenji with a slight snicker. "I did deal with several of your "kind" before. Unfortunately, you cannot "remove" it per say; you'll have to live with it for the rest of your life...." The light seemed to leave Kenji's eyes. He let the sentence stay in the air before resuming. "HOWEVER, there is a way to control your affliction." "Control!? I'll do anything!" Kenji exclaimed, suddenly hopeful. "Please!" "It's true that we can't keep this up." Kusaka added. "The time between incidents is getting shorter; not counting today the last was only four days ago, and we almost killed each other." Before either Kenji or Kusaka could press Kei for further assistance however a young man with blond-coloured hair flash-stepped towards the group. His kosode was ripped and tattered and blood trickled from a wound above his right eye. He stopped short when he saw the extent of Kusaka's injuries. "Are you two alright!?" He all but screamed. "Nerine. You know the drill." Kei said without looking at her. Nerine immediately nodded and appeared by the blonde-haired man's side. Before the youth could argue, she already had her hand auras over the man's body. "I wouldn't resist boy. She can easily reverse what she is doing to your body." Kei said after noticing the youth's constant fidgeting. As he said that, Kei took a cigar from his breast pocket and lit it up, exhaling a few puffs of smoke as the sounds of the wilderness started to return. "Kei, meet Kazuma; our excitable pupil. Kazuma, stand still; you aren't in any danger." Kusaka said. "O-okay." Kazuma managed. Kenji, though, could never hack seeing his pupil in any form of distress. He curled his lip in a snarl whilst Kei and his companions where distracted by Kazuma, and the resultant emotion turned his eyes their prior Hollowfied yellow. Kusaka noticed first. "And you calm your jets!" Kusaka's closed fist caught Kenji square in the jaw and he tumbled to the floor! "I didn't spend my whole morning trading blows with your Hollow form to have you go ape-shit twice in one day. Stay there and keep quiet or I'll put you to sleep." He exhaled sharply. "Now that we've got that out of the way... Kei, what does he need to do to control this Hollowfication thing?" "Oh? Was he going to become a Hollow again? My punishment would've been far more severe this time around. Hehe." Kei remarked, snickering in anticipation. "I had something prepared should Kenji goes on a rampage once again. KUROTEN!!" At that moment, Kei clapped his hands together, and a large armoured scaly-kin centuar-like humanoid with a lion-like visage and curved horns appeared behind him. It was bathed in fire and wielded a huge Zweihänder-like sword encased entirely in flames. Kusaka looked at Kei and saw a wide, malicious smile appear on Kei's face. "You can't be serious!" He said with a small look of horror. "Heh. I'm not serious at all." Kei replied with a laugh. "So..you want to control your Hollowification? I can tell you, but it'll cost you." He said, looking at them expectantly. "... It's already cost me, more than you can know." Kenji whispered. In his mind's eye Kenji could see all the destruction wrought by his own hand. Not being in control was no excuse; he knew the Inner Hollow was a part of him, and as a result it was his own power that had almost killed Kazuma. His own power that had inflicted so many wounds upon Kusaka, and it was those selfsame powers that had wiped a small town in Germany and all those living in it off the map. "If you can help him, please do so." Kazuma added, tearfully. Most forgot that he was simply a child. "Kenji doesn't deserve this!" "Neither did we." Kei replied to Kazuma. "But here we are in the Living World, doing the work the Shinigami can't!" He indicated himself, Masaki and Nerine, both of whom possessed solemn expressions. "BUT!" Kei said, raising a finger at Kenji. "I'm no longer affiliated with the Gotei, so I'll do you this one favor... I'll take you to the people who can help you control your Hollowification. They should be able to handle you." "What makes you say that?" Kusaka asked. "Because I was the one who helped train them." Kei replied, with a widening smile. "That means there are others like me?" Kenji asked. His words where muffled due to him still lying face-first on the floor, but Kei was close enough to hear regardless. "If I could control this..." The possibility opened up a number of doors. "Obviously; how else did you expect me to know how to deal with you? Dealing with someone like is you no laughing matter." Kei said with a serious expression. He sighed. "Jeez, now I have to babysit you all the way to Japan." Kei lamented with another sigh. "Now I know how Auntie feels when she took care of me. But at least I won't go crazy if you call me old. Honestly, that woman has a complex about her age. She is pretty old after all." He said to himself. Kusaka was the first to twig. He recalled the words he had shared with Masaki when he told the man who his parents where, and grinned wide. Kenji, however, looked horrified. "Sensitive about her age...? You can't mean Anika Shihōin!? Oh, fuck. That old bitch has her finger stuck in everything!" He exclaimed. Kusaka almost knocked him unconscious with a single right-hook. "That's my mother you're talking about!!" "Auntie?" Kei asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't recall ever knowing her name other than her visiting my mother a lot back in the day. She even babysat me a couple of times." "It's my mother." Kusaka claimed. "Masaki told me earlier that you're a descendant of Michael Yume, and my mother only knew one Michael." He scratched his head. "Huh. It really is a small world." "I suppose it is." Kei stated. "Guess we can say fate brought you here...Yeah right!" "Anika's gonna kill me." Kenji whispered. "Why?" Kazuma questioned. "Why do you think!? Not only did I kick her son in lumps but now I've tried to do the same to one of the kids she looked after? Godmother or no, she's gonna throttle me!!" Kei looked at Kenji with a devilish smile. "I'll do ya another favor and not tell Anika." He finished, snickering him to himself. "Make any more promises like that Kei and I think you'll have Kenji reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and kissing your feet." Kusaka replied, matching Kei's grin. "Favors are a far more precious commodity than money Kusaka." Kei said with a matter of fact tone. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Kenji began exclaiming. "You shouldn't say thank you so soon." Kei declared, waving a finger at him. "The road will be long and arduous, especially the time it'll take us to reach Japan." "I guess our vacation is going to get cut short." Nerine lamented with a downcast expression, dropping her puzzle toy on the ground. "Vacation?! I wouldn't call this a vacation at all." Masaki replied in surprise. However, Nerine merely ignored him and continued to stare at the ground. "... I'm ready." If he knew setting his jaw so firmly would hurt so much he wouldn't have bothered his backside and settled for silence. His face burned! "Shall we?" Kazuma asked, looking to each in-turn. Kusaka thumped him on the head. "Be quiet you, grown-ups are talking." "I assume you don't have any money while we're traveling? Don't worry, I'll take care of all the expenses. For a price." Kei said with a happy smile, laughing at Kusaka's, Kenji's, and Kazuma's surprise. End.